Science: Mountain of Fire

The tiny village of Perryville, Alaska normally harbors 92 Indians and
two white schoolteachers. Last week 80 of the Indians had gone north to
their seasonal fishing grounds. The remaining 14 souls in Perryville
were not happy to be there. For Mt. Veniaminof, only 15 miles away, was
blowing its head off.

In Alaska's most spectacular volcanic display in more than a decade, the
crater vomited flame to a height of 1,500 feet, acrid smoke and hot ash
to a distance of five or six miles. The smoke pall was so thick in
Perryville that lamps had to be lighted in the...